Recycling mobiles ‘keeps chemicals out of the environment’

People who recycle their old mobile phones and other electrical devices are doing their part to keep harmful chemicals out of water sources, according to the Merced County Association of Governments.

The group noted that Christmas is a popular time for many people to replace outdated handsets – or receive them as gifts – but it is important that they dispose of their old ones in the proper way.

It listed a number of tips in the Merced Sun Star for people who are looking to make their Christmas a bit greener, including mobile phone recycling.

This, the county association emphasised, is an essential way to keep materials such as cadmium, mercury and lead – all of which are harmful to humans – out of landfills, where they could leach into underground water sources.

Recycle Now noted recently that people may wish to consider cutting their Christmas carbon footprint, as some people produce around 5.5 per cent of their total annual carbon emissions between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.